August 2nd

Dear Friends – It’s 11:55PM Saturday night.  Five of us just got back from the Laundromat and I finally have a chance to sit down and write to you.  The day began at 4AM when Egawa-san picked us up to go for a hike at a nearby mountain.  We got to the starting point at 4:30 after driving on a one-lane road that didn’t seem headed for anywhere in particular.  But Egawa-san found the place he was looking for to park his car and we began our hike.  If I were by myself I would have quit after five minutes.  But being with Danny, Tsuguru and Egawa-san, I had to show my toughness.  What a dumb thing to do.  The trail to the peak was strictly uphill – there was no point where the path was level or downhill.  I was surprised that there was plenty of light for us to see.  The sun rose just before we reached the peak at about 5:20.  I’ll have to admit the view at the top was worth the effort of getting up so early and struggling to climb.  We could look around in every direction and have a terrific view.  We were looking down on the clouds which enveloped the valley areas below us.  It was so much easier to go down the mountain, but much tougher on the knees.  I’m sure they will be aching tomorrow.
This morning, we then went to Matsumoto – it’s about a 40 minute train ride.  We got there about 9AM and walked about the city visiting the castle, shopping, and having lunch.  I found out that Michelle is quite adventurous when it comes to eating.  We went to a restaurant that served horse meat sashimi – raw, sliced horse meat.  She also ordered bee larva.  That didn’t taste bad at all.  Everyone seemed to have a different idea of what it tasted like.
Then for dinner we went to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Higuchi.  We went to their home last year, also, and had a feast just like this year.  A few women from the church were there to help Mrs. Higuchi with the cooking and cleaning up.  After dinner we had some fireworks – sparklers and some fountains.  I think boys of every age love playing with fire and things that go boom.  The dinner was an amazing presentation of many, many foods.  Before coming to Japan, we sent the Kawanos a short biography of ourselves that included which Japanese foods we enjoy eating.  I think many of those foods ended up be cooked and prepared for us.  But as good as the meal was, the time spent talking with the church members who prepared the meal was the best part of the evening.  Every year it seems we are becoming closer and closer to these dear brothers and sisters.  They work so hard to bless our stay in Chino.  It’s 12:30AM now and I need to get to sleep.  I wish there were more time to share all that’s happening with the team members – make sure you talk with us when we get back.  Love, Don